Chapter 24
Stephen said, “I’ll go upstairs and see how she’s doing.”
Upon reaching the bedroom, he twisted the doorknobs, only to find the door locked. He knocked and said, “Open up.”
Layla opened the door and tossed a handful of bills and coins at Stephen. He spotted a few 30 and 50–dollar bills alongside pennies and quarters.
Layla paid for everything by card and hardly kept any cash on her person. Angered by Robert, she rummaged through her drawers and managed to scrape together a thousand dollars in cash. It was the price she had to pay to sleep in a separate room from Stephen.
Her voice was froggy as she bit out, “We’re sleeping in separate rooms tonight.”
Downstairs, Dylan was so mortified by this turn of events that he couldn’t even watch television anymore.
Stephen stared at the money on the floor as the maids hurried to gather the bills and coins. He knocked on the door again. “I need my pajamas.”
The door opened once more, and his pajamas came flying out in a heap. He caught them deftly this time just as the maids held out the money they’d gathered from the floor. “A thousand dollars, Mr. Yates.”
He glanced at the money and briefly wondered how Layla had even come up with it. “Put it in Dylan’s old piggy bank”
“Yes, sir.”
Layla spent the night in the large bedroom. The duvet with the “Just Married” stitching was an unremovable eyesore. She turned her back to the bed and held her phone tightly. She was scrambling to find a way to have that scandalous footage of her taken down
By midnight, she was told by a helpless agent, “Look, Ms. Murray, we would help you if we could, but we’re under strict orders to leave the footage on the internet.
Layla countered, “What if I paid you?”
“No can do. We’ve kept the number of views under control, but we’re not allowed to take it down.”
Layla tightened her grip on the phone and stared at the bridal photo hanging on the wall. She clenched her fists until her knuckles tumed white. “Did Stephen put you up to this?” He was the only person in Somersia who would go to such lengths to aggravate her.
“We’re not sure.”
“I understand.” Layla hung up. She scowled as her chest rose and fell with each angry buff.
Robert was soaking up in whatever peace his retreat in Elmsbury offered him, yet here she was, being monitored and punished by Stephen. She hurled a pillow at the bridal photo in a fit of frustration.
The next day, Layla had yet to figure out a way to cover up her scandal when she got an angry call from Austin. “Damnit, Layla. My dad’s going to send me to some school abroad! I’ve never passed a test in any foreign language. What am I going to do abroad? Be a mime?”
“This has Stephen all over it!” Layla hissed. She stormed out of the room and leaned over the staircase banister. Spotting the maids in the living room, she demanded furiously, “Where’s Stephen?”
“Mr. Yates left for work earlier this morning.”
Layla returned to the room and put on a change of clothes. She pulled on a cap and drove to Murray Group.
Stephen was in his office when Tyler informed him, “Ms. Murray called up every person she low to try and take the footage down. They refused to do it even when she offered to pay them.”
“Does she know that I’m behind it?”
“She might have guessed it, but she has no evidence.”
